Grain-separating machine.



PATENTBD OCT. 3, 1905. G. STUART & C. MODONALD. GRAIN SEPARATINGMACHINE.

uvucnxon FILED NOV. 19. 1000.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

4 BHEETSSHEET 2.

PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905.

G STUART & G MCDONALD GRAIN SBPARATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.19, 1900.

No. 000,000. PATENTED 001.0, 1905.

I 0. STUART & 0. MQDONALD. GRAIN SEPARATING MAGHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED NOV, 19, 1900.

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,DvcWJ g v wM 1. dizz'Fz wys No. 800,690. PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905.

G. STUART & 0. MCDONALD.

GRAIN SEPARATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 1900.

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UETTEE sTATEs PATENT oEEToE.

GEORGE STUART, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND CHARLES MCDONALD, OF

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, ASSIGNORS TO THE AMERICAN CEREAL COM- PANY, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

GRAIN-SEPARATING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1905.

Application filed November 19, 1900. Serial No, 87,013.

To (0Z1 lull/0727, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GEORGE STUART, residing at Chicago, in the countyof Cool: and State of Illinois, and CHARLES NIoDoNALn, residing at CedarRapids, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, citizens of the UnitedStates, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement inGrain-Separating Machines, of which the following is a full, clear,concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to a grain-separating machine, our object being toprovide an improved form of mechanism for separating hulled fromunhulled grain, the invention having been developed more particularlywith reference to the separation of hulled oats from unhulled oats.lVhile the invention is particularly adapted for this kind of grainorcereal, it will be apparent that it is equally applicable to theseparation of similar grains.

in accordance with our invention we provide a traveling belt or apron ofthe general form shown in United States Letters Patent No. l91,59i,granted to George H. Rich February 14, 1893. In said Letters Patent thebelt is shown as formed of a plurality of transverse bars or slatssuitably hinged together to form a continuous belt or apron, the outersurfaces of the bars being provided with recesses or cells to formpockets adapted to receive and retain small seeds of a spherical formwhich are frequently inter-,

mingled with the grain and which it is desired to remove therefrom. Thestructure of the Rich Letters Patent above mentioned is designed toremove these small spherical seeds from the oats or other grain, and toaccomplish this purpose the belt or apron travels upward in an inclinedposition, and the oats or other grain are delivered to the belt or apronnear the upper end thereof and travel downward over the face of thebelt. The size of the pockets or recesses is such that the oats arepermitted to freely pass over the face of the apron and are delivered toa suitable receptacle at the lower end thereof, while the smallspherical seeds fall into the pockets and are carried upward with thebelt or apron and are delivered to a receptacle at the upper end of thebelt or apron.

In accordance with the present invention oats, due apparently to thegreater smoothness of the surfaces thereof, are permitted to descend. Incarrying out our invention we deliver the mixed hulled and unhulledoatsto be separated at a point near the lower end of the apron, usuallyat a point intermediate the middle and the lower end of the apron. Theengagement of the cellular surface of the moving apron with the hulledoats causes the same to gradually ascend the apron and to pass to theupper end thereof. Some of the unhulled oats will immediately pass tothe lower end of the apron, while some of the unhulled oats will slowlyascend for a short distance and then descend again to the lower end ofthe apron. there is a point which seems to mark the limit of the upwardtravel of which the unhulled oats are capable, and above this point willbe found the hulled oats alone, the same having been thoroughlyseparated from the unhulled oats. The hulled oats thus accumulating atthe upper end of the apron may be removed in any desired manner. Wepreferably provide a catch-apron having a free edge adapted to rest uponthe apron near the upper end thereof, beneath which free edge the hulledoats will readily pass and upon which the hulled oats are adapted to bedeposited and thence conducted from the machine in any' desired manner.The cellular pockets may serve, as in the Rich Letters Patent abovementioned, to receive small spherical seeds, which will pass over theupper end of the apron and may thus be delivered into any suitablereceptacle. During the operation of the machine examination will showthat there are practically three currents of grain-first, the finespherical seeds which are carried upward in the pockets or cells of theapron and are moved consequently at the same speed as the apron; second,the hulled oats which grad ually and continuously ascend at a speed lessNear the upper end of the apron I than that of the travel of the apron,and, third, the unhulled oats, part of which are traveling downward andpart of which partake of an upward travel much slower, however, than thehulled oats. The unhulled oats constituting this third stream willeventually find their way to thereceptacle at the lower end of theapron, and thus the general trend of the unhul led oats is in a downwarddirection.

While we preferably employ the cells or reeesses as pockets for removingthe small spherical seeds from the grain, this is not es sential to theoperation of the machine, and other mechanism may be employed forremoving these foreign seeds. In such case the unhulled oats will, asabove, descend to the lower end of the apron, while the hulled oats arecarried to the upper end of the traveling apron, where they may becollected and removed by the catch-apron. Instead of employing means forremoving the hulled grain in the form of a catch-apron any othersuitable means for accomplishing this removal of the hulled grainpassing to the upper end of the traveling apron may be employed withoutdepartingfrom the spirit of our invention.

e have illustrated our invention in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is an isometric view of a separating-machine embodying ourinvention. Fig. 2 is a view thereof in elevation, partially in section.Fig. 3 is a partial plan view of the apron. Fig. 4 is a sectional viewthereof. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the apron and guide therefor. Fig. 6is a transverse sectional view of the apron and the guides therefor.Fig. 7 is a detail view of the hopper and the feeding mechanism therein.Fig. 8 is a view of a portion of the hopper and the feeding mechanism.Figs. 9 and 10 are detail views of modified forms of the catch-apron.Fig. 11 is asectional view of the catch-apron shown in Fig. 10.

Like letters refer to like parts in the several figures.

The apron (.4 comprises a plurality of strips or bars a (0, provided atthe opposite ends with links 0, a", hinged together at the edges, sothat the same may swing about the edges of the bars as axes. The edgesof the bars are chamfered or cut away, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4.,to permit the bars to fold about the sprocket-wheels 7) 6, carried uponthe frame 0 of the machine. The belt thus comprises, in effect, twosprocket-chains supporting between them the transverse bars, the edgesof which rest in contact. The bars a a are secured to the links a If bymeans of screws (6 (4 The faces of the bars a" a are provided with cellsor receptacles a" (1 preferably of the form and size illustrated inFigs. 3 and 4:, which figures show the parts drawn to scale whenemployed for the separation of hulled from unhulled oats. It will benoted that the cells are not of sufficient size to permit either thehulled or the un hulled oats to rest therein as in a pocket, so that thereceptacles are incapable of carrying the grains bodily upward. Theresult is that while the pockets are of suflicient size to receive andretain small spherical seeds which may be mixed with the oats they arenot of sufficient size to retain either the hulled or unhulled oats. Theunhulled oats, due to the smoothness of the coat thereon, glide freelyand readily over the surfaces of the cellular strips. An examination ofthe hulled oats will disclose the fact that they are covered with finehairs or fibers, and we account for the operation by the fact that theciliated surface of the hulledgrain permits the cellular surface of theapron t-o frictionally engage the grain to thereby gradually move thesame upward. The smooth coat of the unhulled grain permits the same topass immediately downward over the apron, except as the same may becarried upward a short distance due to physical engagement with theupwardlytraveling hulled grains and with the recesses.

The apron as it passes from wheel 7) to wheel 7/ is adapted to rest uponthe guidebars 67 (7. These bars are slightly bent at the opposite ends,thereby permitting the apron to sag somewhat as it passes from the wheel5 to wheel t. The belt or apron (1. makes a slight dip, therefore, as itleaves the wheel 7/, then travels in a direct line until it approachesthe upper wheel 7), when it makes a slight upward bend and passes overthe wheel 7/. Near the lower end of the apron (I the hopper a isprovided, which is adapted to deliver the mixed grain to the apron a. Asshown more clearly in Figs. 7 and 8, the hopper is provided with a floor6, having a plurality of holes 6 e therein, and beneath the floor e is abar 6 provided with holes adapted in one position to register with theholes e 0 By moving the bar a longitudinally the size of the openingsthrough which the grain may pass from the hopper may be varied asdesired. Above each of the holes is a toothed wheel @"a", said wheelsbeing mounted upon a shaft carrying upon the end a toothed wheel 6adapted to engage the sprocket-chain formed on one side of the apron orbelt, whereby as the belt travels the wheels 0 a" are caused to rotateto thereby feed the grain through the openings in the floor of thehopper.

Near the upper end of the traveling apron It a catch-apron 70 isprovided. This apron preferably comprises a plurality of leaves 7/ 72.,hinged at the rear ends and resting at the forward ends upon thetraveling apron (6. The side edges of the leaves 7t are turned upwardinto the vertical positions to thereby guide the grain to the pan 717,which terminates in a funnel 7b, which communicates with a duct 70,extending to the lower end of the machine and adapted to deliver itscontents upon a conveyer 7r, which carries the same to the desiredlocality.

Instead of forming the catch-apron as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, whereinthe apron takes the form of hinged leaves, the catchapron may be formedas shown in Fig. 9, in which the end of the pan ]L2 is provided withlongitudinal slits to thereby form a plurality of leaves if if, theflexibility of the leaves permitting the grain to pass freely under theends thereof as the grain is carried upward by the traveling apron. InFig. the leaves 72 it are secured to the pan 7f by means of a leatherstrip if, which serves as a hinge.

The hopper e is situated above the bend which is provided in thetraveling apron near the lower end thereof, and we find that this bendfacilitates the separating process and prevents the grain from tooreadily passing from the lower end of the apron. The bend provided inthe traveling apron at the upper end thereof is situated a shortdistance above the free ends of the leaves of the catch-apron, and thisbend facilitates the delivery of the hulled grain to the catch-apron.The passage of the hulled grain beneath the free ends of the leaves ofthe catch-apron and the change in direction of the apron in the vicinityof the catch-apron cooperate in causing the hulled grain to fall backupon the catchapron, and the grain thence passes through the duct to theconveyer A.

It is supposed that the difference in surface between the hulled andunhulled oats accounts for the elevation of the one and the descent ofthe other. It will be noted that the unhulled grain has a hard, smoothcoat, while the hulled grain is ciliated and somewhat rough. The factthat some of the unhulled grain immediately descends, while anotherportion rises for a short distance, may be accounted for by the factthat a portion of the grain is permitted to slide immediately to thelower-end of the apron, while other grains are mechanically engaged bythe belt or by the ascending hulled grains, thus bodily raising theunhulled grains until such a time as they may become freed and bepermitted to slide down over the top of the layer of hulled grain. Thepassage of the hulled grain backward upon the catch-apron may beaccounted for by the fact that the grain passes beneath the free end ofthe apron and by the further fact that the apron partakes of a slightangular movement just above the edge of the catch-apron.

Having described our invention. what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for separating hulled from unhulled grain, thecombination with an inclined traveling apron, the surface of said apronhaving indentations formed therein, said indentations producing amultiplicity of corners or edges with which the grain is adapted to comein contact, said edges being adapted to frictionally engage and elevatethe hulled grain, while permitting the unhulled grain to descend, ofmeans arranged at an intermediate position for feeding the grain to saidapron, and means for removing the hulled grain from the upper end ofsaid traveling apron.

2. In a machine for separating hulled from unhulled grain, thecombination with an inclined traveling-apron, the surface of said apronhaving indentations formed therein, said indentations producing amultiplicity of corners or edges with which the grain is adapted to comein contact, said edges being adapted to frictionally engage and elevatethe hulled grain, while permitting the unhulled grain to descend. of areceiver at the lower end of said traveling apron for receiving theunhulled grain, means arranged at an intermediate position for feedingthe grain to said apron, and means for removing the hulled grain fromthe\ upper end of said traveling apron.

3. In a machine for separating hulled from unhulled grain, thecombination with an inclined traveling apron, the surface of said apronhaving indentations formed therein, said indentations producing amultiplicity of corners or edges with which the grain is adapted to comein contact, said edges being adapted to frictionally engage and elevatethe hulled grain, while permitting the unhulled grain to descend. of areceiver at the lower end of said traveling apron for receiving theunhulled grain, means arranged at an intermediate position for feedingthe grain to said apron, and a catch-apron at the upper end of saidtraveling apron for removing the hulled grain therefrom.

L. In a grain-separating machine, the combination with an inclinedtraveling apron having the surface thereof suitably formed and situatedto engage and elevate a part of the grain while permitting another partto descend, of means for feeding the grain thereto at an intermediateposition, a receiver at the lower end of said traveling apron, and acatch-apron at the upper end of said traveling apron, said apron havinga free end and being adapted to engage and collect the grain from thetraveling apron, substantially as described.

5. In a grain-separating machine, the combination with an inclinedtraveling apron, of means for feeding the grain thereto at anintermediate position, a receiver at the lower end of said travelingapron, and a catch-apron at the upper end of said traveling apron, saidcatch-apron having a yielding receiving edge adapted to engage andcollect the grain from the catch-apron, substantially as described.

6. In a machine for separating hulled from unhulled grain, and forremoving small foreign seeds therefrom, the combination with an inclinedtraveling apron, the surface of said apron having indentations formedtherein, said indentations producing a multiplicity of corners or edgeswith which the grainis adapted to come in contact, said edges beingadapted to frictionally engage and elevate the hulled grain, whilepermitting the unhulled grain to descend, said indentations serving aspockets to receive and retain the small foreign seeds, of means forfeeding the grain to said traveling apron at an intermediate position, areceiver for the hulled grain at the lower end of the traveling apron, areceiver for the small foreign seeds at the upper end of said travelingapron, and a catch-apron near the upper end of said traveling apron forremoving the hulled grain therefrom.

7. The combination with an inclined traveling apron having the surfacethereof suitably formed and situated to engage and elevate the grain tobe extracted, of means for feeding the grain to the traveling apron, acatchapron provided near the upper end of said traveling apron, andguiding means for said traveling apron adapted to cause the same topartake of a slight bend outward from the line of previous travel in thevicinity of the collecting edge of said catch-apron, substantially asdescribed.

8. The combination with an inclined traveling apron having the surfacethereof formed to engage and elevate the grain to be extracted, of meansfor feeding the grain to said traveling apron, grain-collecting means atthe upper end of said traveling apron, and guiding means for said apronadapted to cause the same to partake of a slight bend inward from theline of previous travel near the lower end thereof, and below theposition at which the grain is delivered to the traveling apron,substantially as described.

9. The combination with atraveling apron, of means for feeding the grainthereto, a catch-apron near the upper end of said. traveling apron, andguiding means for said traveling apron adapted to cause the same topartake of a slight bend inward from the line of previous travel at thelower end thereof, and beneath the position where the grain is fed tothe apron, and also to partake of a slight bend outward from the line ofprevious travel at the upper end thereof and in the vicinity of thecollecting edge of said catch-apron, substantially as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names in the presenceof two witnesses.

GEORGE STUART. CHARLES McDONALD. itnessesz W. CLYDE JONES, M. R.RocI-IroRD.

